PRACTICE PORTAL

When people ask who my favorite saxophonists are, Yusef Lateef is always among my first responses. in the solo below, you can hear why he’s so impressive to me. he’s such a patient and deliberate improviser, he reminds me of Oliver Nelson in that respect. there’s always that blues element in his lines. the thing i love most is how he shapes his notes. he constantly tweaks them with subtle tonguing, bends, smears and slurs. he also might split a note by over blowing it, or add a throaty growl to it. he constantly blurs the edges of his sound, adding a bit of ambiguity and dissonance to his lines. he sings, in other words. his solos have the quality of slow-simmering pot of something or other, sitting at the back of the stove- makes the whole kitchen smell funky..! the song “Koko’s Tune” is from Lateef’s very nice record, INTO SOMETHING which features Barry Harris on piano, Herman Wright on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. great blues head. it’s played as a trio without Harris and is a nice chance to hear Lateef stretch out like he’s sitting in his den on his favorite recliner…

YUSEF LATEEF

MELODY AND SOLO FROM KOKO’S TUNE (mp3)

UNITY, recorded under the leadrship of Larry Young for Blue Note records is one of those genuinely unique records that doesn’t quite fit into a niche. it’s an organ record that, to my knowledge, has no stylistic precedent. the music is a wide detour from Jimmy Smith organ school that was so dominant, instead drawing influences from more open-ended post bop concepts. yet the whole record is very funky in its own quirky way, and the loose, rowdy vibe never lets up mainly because Young and Elvin Jones create such exciting rhythmic friction and generate a wide, flexible beat that allows Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw dig in or float. the horns blend well and they exhibit great empathy. on “ZOLTAN”, the Shaw composition featured here, the transitions that Jones and Young make from straight eighth note grooves into swing are forceful and satisfying. ZOLTAN, which starts off the record, begins with an eight bar march rhythm by Jones. he’s then joined by the rest of the band. Shaw and Henderson play a unison pattern while Young plays a two note bass line under his right hand chords. the groove then switches to latin as Jones and Young set up the melody. the horns enter with the main melody, an eight measure unison riff built on a succession of second intervals. the horns repeat the riff and go into the bridge, where the feel switches to swing. the horns play long notes, bending the pitches with each other. the first melody is played once again before the soloing starts. the solos are blown over the 32 bar form of the tune. i couldn’t resist making the mp3 a little longer to include the blowing… check it out.

WOODY SHAW

ZOLTAN (mp3)